Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi Complete ... - BrahminVoice.org

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
so happy when there is a war in Spain, a war in China? Is it not
selfishness to remain Self-realised without helping the world?
M.: The Self was pointed out to you to cover the universe and also
transcend it. The world cannot remain apart from the Self. If the
realisation of such Self be called selfishness that selfishness must
cover the world also. It is nothing contemptible.
D.: Does not the realised man continue to live just like a non-realised
being?
M.: Yes, with this difference that the realised being does not see the
world as being apart from the Self, he possesses true knowledge and
the internal happiness of being perfect, whereas the other person
sees the world apart, feels imperfection and is miserable. Otherwise
their physical actions are similar.
D.: The realised being also knows that there are wars being waged
in the world, just like the other man.
M.: Yes.
D.: How then can he be happy?
M.: Is the cinema screen affected by a scene of fire burning or sea
rising? So it is with the Self.
The idea that I am the body or the mind is so deep that one cannot get
over it even if convinced otherwise. One experiences a dream and knows
it to be unreal on waking. Waking experience is unreal in other states.
So each state contradicts the others. They are therefore mere changes
taking place in the seer, or phenomena appearing in the Self, which is
unbroken and remains unaffected by them. Just as the waking, dream
and sleep states are phenomena, so also birth, growth and death are
phenomena in the Self. which continues to be unbroken and unaffected.
Birth and death are only ideas. They pertain to the body or the mind. The
Self exists before the birth of this body and will remain after the death of
this body. So it is with the series of bodies taken up in succession. The
Self is immortal. The phenomena are changeful and appear mortal. The
fear of death is of the body. It is not true of the Self. Such fear is due to
ignorance. Realisation means True Knowledge of the Perfection and
Immortality of the Self. Mortality is only an idea and cause of misery.
You get rid of it by realising the Immortal nature of the Self.
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